MORE than half a century after the doll’s creation, there seems to be no stopping Barbie. The feature film based on this favourite toy, directed by US filmmaker Greta Gerwig, has dominated the global box office since its release. But that’s not all: thanks to its soundtrack, the movie is enjoying similar success in major music charts.
‘Barbie: The Album’ was released on July 21 to coincide with the arrival of Greta Gerwig’s satirical comedy in North American theatres. Since then, it has been riding high in the streaming charts.
The album debuted at #2 in the Billboard 200 chart on August 5. It has now been in the benchmark US chart for six weeks, although it has slipped to sixth place. It did, however, top the Billboard soundtrack chart for five consecutive weeks. Moreover, ‘Barbie: The Album’ landed as the most listened-to album on Spotify in the US and worldwide, as well as on iTunes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The album’s commercial success is, of course, linked to that of the blockbuster that inspired it. The movie has grossed some US$1.36 billion (RM6.36 billion) worldwide, making it the biggest box-office hit of the year, according to Variety. It's a safe bet, then, that many moviegoers listened to the ‘Barbie’ soundtrack on streaming platforms after seeing the film in theatres.
But ‘Barbie: The Album’ already had its own fans before the doll's cinematic adventures made it to the big screen. Several of its tracks were unveiled in the spring, including ‘Dance the Night’ by Dua Lipa, ‘Watati’ by Karol G, ‘Barbie World’ by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, and ‘What Was I Made For?’ by Billie Eilish.
The videos accompanying some of these songs include scenes from the film, or, in the case of ‘Dance the Night’, a cameo appearance from Greta Gerwig. What's more, Atlantic Records – the label behind the soundtrack – staged ‘Barbie: The Album’ listening parties in the US, Latin America and Europe in advance of the movie's release.
The result is a cinematic success, as well as a musical one. On the whole, ‘Barbie: The Album’ was well-received by critics for its musical diversity. But some saw it as more commercial than artistic in nature.
Shaad D’Souza of The Guardian described the record, produced by Mark Ronson, as an “auspicious union of art and advertising,” while Alex Rigotti of the NME said that “the soundtrack has some wonderful highs and some miserable lows”.
In any case, music fans have proved more enthusiastic about this album, which features contributions from the likes of Tame Impala, Haim, Sam Smith, Charlie XCX and... Ryan Gosling. The actor, who plays Ken in Greta Gerwig's movie, sings ‘I'm Just Ken’. This rock-operatic ode to self-acceptance is one of the most popular songs on streaming platforms, appearing in numerous playlists. But it has especially found its audience on TikTok, where it has been used to soundtrack no less than 94,600 videos. – ETX Daily Up, September 8, 2023
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